Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: November 30-December 6, 2008

Last week was interesting with Sportsman receiving an Overdrive Award for Diligence, but this week had three contenders vying for most review contributions in one seven day period. We saw 7 reviews from BigCJ34 and 4 from Sportsman. Newcomer Fedule posted 6. Whether or not these reviews are totally new, refurbished, or reposted from other places is irrelevant. All three of you have performed well by simply sharing your love for games.

But is it enough to earn a spot in this week’s Review of the Week? This was a pretty competitive week, after all, and unfortunately I have only three spots to hand out. Someone will be left out in the cold, but take note. There were many quality reads this week, and you’re encouraged to read as many of them as you can.

As always, staff reviews are excluded from the running.



2nd Runner-Up: The Reviews of BigCJ34 by BigCJ34

I know I’m breaking the established rules set forth nearly five years ago when RotW came into existence by picking multiple reviews from one reviewer in a given week. But given the amount of effort that BigCJ34 put into this week, I hope you’ll forgive me. Before Saturday afternoon, I was already trying to decide which reviews I would select for the top three spots. BigCJ had subbed only 4. But then he decided to add 3 more reviews, which convinced me that I should, rather than pick one of his reviews, give him a nod for all of them. Each one of these reviews is more than adequate. They are quality pieces that provide solid information about a variety of games. Most importantly, they read easily. Considering the past where BigCJ reviews were often filled with wordy, awkward sentences, I have to say that this man has made huge progress in his reviewing skills and I feel it necessary to give him a spot in this week’s RotW. Keep up the good work.

1st Runner-Up: bit Generations: Boundish (GBA) by Synonymous

Excluding one overly lengthy sentence containing a few grammatical errors, the writing in this review is very, very good. Boundish the game isn’t good, but rarely do we see prose this engaging. She could have taken the easy way out by giving a dry run-down of the game, but instead we’re given a very articulate analysis. I found myself learning something new after coming away from this review, just as I had when I read her piece on Trilby’s Notes. Puzzle/Pong games don’t tend to get a lot of attention since it’s assumed that the writing is dry, but this is a review that was enjoyable to read throughout, and I guarantee that anyone who enters this review will come away feeling that they read something that was more than worth their time.

Review of the Week: Sonic the Hedgehog (X360) by Fedule

We don’t give many first place finishes to newcomers on their first attempt at RotW, but here’s an exception that goes against the grain. Fedule breaks the mold and subbed 6 quality reviews this week. All of them are really good, but this Sonic the Hedgehog review is the best one in my mind for two major reasons. First, its intro is excellent, and it spearheads the way for some very good writing. Fedule makes his points effectively without resorting to nonsensical descriptions or venom. Good! Because I hate incredulity, and there isn’t any of that here. This is a lengthy review (I originally read the 19KB version), but it didn’t feel that way because the author keeps his prose fluid (the new, somewhat shorter version is even easier to digest). There aren’t any gimmicks employed to keep things lively; the writing maintains a high energy level all throughout; the author’s knowledge on Sonic titles is impressive.

Second, there’s a paragraph where he describes racing through levels in previous Sonic games with the objective of posting a remarkable time. I thought the example with Sonic Adventure’s Emerald Coast was excellent because I had the exact same sentiment nearly a decade ago when I wondered how I could go from 4 minutes to 2 in that level! This is a very good negative review for a very bad game. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

On a related note, have you played Sonic Unleashed?



Congrats to the winners. EmP has this current week. Flood him.

From what I hear Sonic Unleashed isn't anything spectacular but way better than what the professional reviews are suggesting.

As you probably noticed all of my reviews are old ones from 2004-2005. I'm still contemplating over whether or not I should post one more (and rewrite two). If not those eight I posted in the last two weeks should be it.

IF YOU WANT MORE BEATS FOR YOUR BUCK THERE'S NO LUCK.

From what you've heard, Sportsman. But you haven't played it.

I don't have to boost my review resume because I have a real resume.

Well, this was unexpected. Er, hi everyone, I'm Fedule, I came here from GameFAQs, nice to meet y'all.

Though yes, I'm gonna have to plead guilty to resubbing some of my old stuff from GameFAQs. See, my REALLY old stuff there is... not so good in my eyes, so I picked out the ones I thought were better and subbed them here. Also, while resubbing, I went and "updated" some of them - some just had changed scores, others I almost completely rewrote and marked as exclusive, like this here Sonic 2006 one. Which is fortunate, since if one of the straight up copy/paste ones had been chosen, I'd have felt a bit awkward... And yes, I did trim it a lot following some advice from HonestGamer. I'm glad to see the changes were appreciated.

To Felix's question, no, I haven't yet played Sonic Unleashed, though I probably will this week. It seems to be one of the most curiously polarizing titles ever released from what I've heard, I mean, I've heard of games where some fans liked it and some hated it, and the same with critics, but with Unleashed, it seems that the fans almost without exception are in favour and the critics are equally without exception in their dislike of it (Though everyone seems to agree that the Werehog is rubbish).

Anyway, thanks a bunch for the mention, and I will definitely continue to contribute... though never this much at once.

•You cannot grasp the true form of Fedule's signature!

Good man. Straight off FAQ's and winning the HG RotW! It was a great detailed review where you underlined how this game went wrong and why Sonic seriosuly has sucked for the last billion years.

I did notice your summarisation section, which is a common habit from GFAQ's users, I used to do it all the time otheir. Don't put them, that's what the rest of the review is for ;)

There three types of people in this world: those who can count, and those who can't.

Whoops; I was a little confused about the difference between "alacrity" and "celerity". Thank you very much, and congratulations to Fedule and BigCJ.

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...I don't even know what alacrity and celerity mean.....

Anyway, congratulations everyone!

[Eating EmP's brain] probably isn't a good idea. I mean... He's British, which means his brain's wired for PAL and your eyes are NTSC. - Will

Alacrity is like a cheerful readiness where as celerity is the rapidity of motion, I think.

I don't have to boost my review resume because I have a real resume.

When Felix said to flood next week with reviews, he didn't mean it. Just to clarify.

For us. For them. For you.